Springfield native Charles Lockhart Jr. (1927-2013) played in the Feitshans High School band and Springfield’s Colored Municipal Band, then was a member of the U.S. Navy Band while in the service.
Returning from the Navy, he first worked for Allis-Chalmers and then joined the Springfield Police Department in June of 1951.
Lockhart recalled his childhood, including discrimination against blacks, his Navy career (he was a roommate of the great saxophonist John Coltrane) and his police department career in an interview for the Springfield African-American History Foundation series.